Make Your Point > Archived Issues > JETTISON

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pronounce JETTISON: Say it "JET uh sun." (Or, if you prefer, "JET uh zun.") To hear it, click here. connect this word to others: If a bad relationship is weighing you down, jettison it: chuck it into the sea. Or de___estrate it: chuck it out the window. (To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)   definition: "Jettison" traces back to a Latin word meaning "a throwing." In English, going back to about 1426, "jettison" has meant "the act of tossing stuff off your ship and into the water, usually to lighten the ship to stop it from sinking (or at least, to stop it from sinking so fast)." It can still mean that today. And it can be a verb: to jettison something is to toss it overboard. More figuratively, to jettison something is to get rid of it, as if you're tossing it overboard. It's weighing you down, so you're sacrificing it so that you can stay afloat in whatever situation you're in. grammatical bits: Part of speech: Verb, the transitive kind: "That habit was weighing me down, so I jettisoned it." Other forms:  Jettisoned, jettisoning, jettisonable. how to use it: "Jettison" is a fun, colorful, nautical, semi-common word. It's a great alternative to plainer verbs like "dump," "trash," "discard," and "toss out." Talk about people jettisoning items--or abstract things, like hopes, attitudes, relationships, etc. The implication is that the person is in distress, or eager to make faster progress--and hopes to find relief or speed up. Because you don't often expect a nautical metaphor, this word can be pretty funny. And because you typically jettison things into the ocean, it's funny if you jettison them elsewhere. For example, Charlie Brooker wrote that "Passions," the bizarre paranormal soap opera, "doesn't throw reality out of the window so much as jettison it into the sun." examples: "The restaurant's manager built a chute on the roof and threatened to jettison the garbage directly onto Olmsted's precious lawns."    — Erik Larson, The Devil in the White City, 2003 "It took several stories on his misconduct published in respected media outlets for Lauer to finally be jettisoned from the network."    — Megan MacFarland, Salon, 5 November 2018    has this page helped you understand "jettison"? Awesome, I'm glad it helped! Thanks for letting me know! If you have any questions about this word, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. study it: Explain the meaning of "jettison" without saying "cast off" or "discard." try it out: Fill in the blanks: "(In a certain situation), I immediately jettison _____." Example: "In Scrabble, I immediately jettison any letter U's, playing any word just to get rid of them. They're the worst." If you like, use this space to write. (To save your work, copy and paste it into an email or a document.) before you review, play: Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out. Our game for this month is MYP Wordles! You're likely familiar with the popular new game Wordle, created by Josh Wardle and recently purchased by the New York Times. You can play the real Wordle each day here. It's fun, simple, and addictive. You try to guess the five-letter word. Each time you guess, you see how close you are: a green box means you've gotten the right letter in the right spot; a yellow box means you've gotten a letter that's in the word but in the wrong spot; a gray box means you've guessed a letter that isn't in the word at all.  There's only one real Wordle every day. But luckily for us, the good folks at StriveMath.com have created a copycat Wordle tool, so you can play as many Wordles as you want, and even create and share your own. So, in each issue this month, try the MYP Wordle linked below. The answer will be a word we've studied. I'll give a series of hints that you can reveal if you choose to. If you can't figure out the answer, you can let the puzzle reveal it, or you can scroll all the way down. Enjoy! Click here to play today's MYP Wordle. If you need some hints, highlight the hidden white text below.    The letter it starts with is… H    The vowels it includes are… Y and A    The part of speech is… noun    The definition is… a problem that's really hard to solve because it's so complicated and so persistent, like a mythical snake with lots of heads that regrow if you chop them off review this word: 1. Near-opposites of JETTISONED include A. WORN and TARNISHED. B. SMOOTHED and POLISHED. C. RETAINED and TREASURED. 2. These days, shows and films earn critical praise by jettisoning _____. A. stereotypes B. quirky humor C. tight storylines Answers to the review questions: 1. C 2. A Answer to the MYP Wordle: Hydra. a final word: I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love. I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words. From my blog: On vocabulary...       36 ways to study words.       Why we forget words, & how to remember them.       How to use sophisticated words without being awkward. On writing...       How to improve any sentence.       How to motivate our kids to write.       How to stop procrastinating and start writing.       How to bulk up your writing when you have to meet a word count. From my heart: a profound thanks to the generous patrons, donors, and sponsors that make it possible for me to write these emails. If you'd like to be a patron or a donor, please click here. If you'd like to be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. A disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.